Starting in Carson, California with PBC and Showtime, 38-year-old Nonito Donaire regained the WBC bantamweight title that he held in 2011 (that's ten years, folks) by knocking out formerly undefeated champion Nordine Oubaali in the fourth round.
The two split the first two rounds of feeling each other out before Donaire hit Oubaali in the third round with a glancing left hook that caused Oubaali to touch his gloves to the floor but didn't seriously stun the champion.
That couldn't be said when at the bell and I mean just at the bell, Donaire landed another left hook that knocked Oubaali down, and referee Jack Reiss did an excellent job in realizing that Oubaali wouldn't have to take another punch in the round and allowed the champion to go to his corner (Well, he walked to the wrong corner first) and try to summon the strength to get himself together.
It didn't help as Donaire walked Oubaali down for ninety seconds or so and then landed a left hook which was the best shot followed by a right and another left hook that sent Oubaali to the canvas with Reiss ending the fight without a count.
For Donaire, who entered the fight an underdog after what appeared to be his last stand in a gallant losing effort to Naoya Inoue where he lost his WBA title by unanimous decision, Donaire wants a rematch with Inoue which would unify three of the four bantamweight titles.
I'm not sure of Donaire's contract situation with PBC, but if an Inoue match couldn't be worked out Donaire could fight for the WBO title, should John Riel Casimero retain his title in his summer match vs Guillermo Rigondeaux.
A Donaire-Casimero fight could be quite the shootout, but I doubt Donaire would have any interest in a Rigondeaux rematch after his loss chasing Rigondeaux around the ring.
In any event, it was a terrific night for boxing as Donaire showed that even at 38, he is still a quality bantamweight and could give Inoue another tussle, although it could be that Inoue is still too strong for the veteran.
No matter Donaire's future, he gave boxing fans another great memory and added another page to a career that will eventually see him inducted into the boxing hall of fame.
Meanwhile, in Las Vegas. Devin Haney held off the late charge of Jorge Linares and defeated the former three-division via unanimous decision to retain his WBC lightweight championship.
Haney boxed very well and dominated the first nine rounds until late in the round when Linares landed a strong uppercut that foretold the final three rounds as Linares won the final three rounds and seemed to have hurt Haney just before the bell in round ten.
The Linares right hand bothered Haney to the point that he wobbled to his corner in the most tenuous state of his career and Haney would do well to get through the eleventh before Haney's head started to clear against several strong punches from Linares.
Linares would win the final round, but Haney did better than in the previous two stanzas and avoided a mishap to work his way to the final bell.
For Linares, the impressive finish and lasting to the final bell in defeat for the first time in his career will earn him another solid fight or two for sizable paychecks, even if he will have to live a late rally that fell short.
As for Haney, his dominance will be remembered, and now there will be some that question Haney's chin after riding out the late rounds.
I think it's fair to keep that in mind, but remember Linares knocked down Vasyl Lomachenko and is noted for his punching ability, so it wasn't a pillow-fisted boxer that stunned Haney.
The fight to make next for Haney should be Teofimo Lopez and settle this WBC franchise champion nonsense to unify all four titles as it should have been, to begin with.
Eddie Hearn said he had no problem allowing Haney to fight Lopez on ESPN for a Top Rank appearance against Lopez, which solves a major roadblock in making the match.
I'd favor Lopez in that fight, but give Haney a chance of winning as well.
In the boxing challenge, Ramon Malpica and I each scored two points on the weekend and moved the total for the year to 72-68.
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